by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A sweeping five-day law enforcement operation targeting online child predators led to the arrest of 205 suspects and the rescue of 115 children across the United States, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 7.
Dubbed “Operation Restore Justice,” the multiagency effort involved the FBI’s 55 field offices and over 90 U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide. Authorities targeted individuals involved in child sex trafficking, production and distribution of child sexual abuse material, and online enticement of minors.
“These depraved human beings, if convicted, will face the maximum penalty in prison — some life,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi during a press conference. She emphasized that the operation was intended to send a clear message that those who prey on children would be aggressively pursued and prosecuted.
FBI Director Kash Patel highlighted that some of those arrested held positions of public trust, including law enforcement personnel, teachers, and other professionals. “There is no place we will not come to hunt you down,” Patel said. “There is no place we will not look for you. And there is no cage we will not put you in should you do harm to our children.”
Among those arrested were Minnesota State Trooper Jeremy Francis Plonski, who faces up to 15 years in prison for allegedly producing child pornography; Jose Alexis Valdez Sosa, a Mexican migrant accused of transporting a minor across state lines for sexual exploitation; and Linwood Barnhill, a former Washington, D.C. police officer and registered sex offender charged with sex trafficking children by force.
Bondi urged parents to closely monitor their children’s online activities to protect them from potential predators. “Your child has no right to privacy on the internet — none,” she said. “You have to monitor what your kids are doing, whether they’re playing games on the internet, on social media, or on any other websites that children and teenagers frequent. An online predator can find them.”
In a related statement, President Donald Trump emphasized the administration’s commitment to combating child exploitation, stating, “My message to every American child is simple: you are perfect exactly the way God made you.”
The crackdown is part of a broader DOJ initiative to tackle child exploitation through coordinated efforts involving state, federal, and local partners. Previous operations, including “Operation Cross Country XII” in 2022 under the Biden administration, resulted in the arrest of 85 suspected traffickers and the recovery of 121 missing children.
The DOJ continues to encourage the public to report suspected child exploitation through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline and local law enforcement agencies.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The United States has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest exporter of crude oil over the past nine weeks, as Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz severely disrupted Middle Eastern energy exports and forced global buyers to seek alternative supplies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel remains in constant coordination with the United States regarding Iran, emphasizing that there are “no surprises” between Jerusalem and Washington as reports swirl about a possible U.S.-Iran agreement aimed at ending the war before fully dismantling Tehran’s nuclear program.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is targeting multiple seats in Congress to take back the Democratic majority in November.
A tense calm returned Monday to a lakeside park in the U.S. state of Oklahoma after a shooting at a crowded outdoor party left nearly two dozen people injured, including several in critical condition, authorities said.
At least five people were killed and 37 others injured in renewed Russian strikes on Ukraine, officials said, as tensions escalated further with what Moscow authorities described as a Ukrainian drone attack on a residential building in the Russian capital.
Governments and activist groups pursuing legal action against major energy companies faced renewed scrutiny Wednesday after the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) dropped its most extreme forecast projecting 4 to 6 degrees Celsius (7.2 to 10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) of global warming by the year 2100.
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that Washington and Tehran were moving closer to an initial agreement to end the war involving Iran, the United States, and Israel, prompting a sharp rally in global financial markets and a decline in oil prices.